R32 conversion

[Dub Style 0]

Ive had my car for two years now and not been able to spend on mods for the engine all i have spent on is repair work oil leaks, misfires and the story continues, i thought about putting my monies together and buying another engine in winter......the options lie v6 4 motion or even the r32 im a mechaninc by trade but wiring does my nut in.........what sort of problems should i expect to face if i decide to do this.

[BigTartanJudge 0]

Quite an involved job methinks, either for the v6 4motion or r32 option !

 

Best to speak to either jay renshaw, phat vr6 or coxy laad as they are all in the process of carrying out these conversions. Needs lots of time, patience, money and lots of wiring / conversion stages ? Best idea would be to speak to these folk and then try and get hold of everything together i.e. look to buy written off v6 4motion or r32 car.

 

Cheers and good luck

[dr_mat 0]

Can you e.g. bolt an R32 engine straight up to a standard VR6 gearbox and engine mounts? If so it's "just" a case of getting the R32 wiring loom in and putting the clocks in the dash...

Damn, sounds easy huh? ;)

[Dub Style 0]

as far as i recall kev mentioned that the r32 works with the vr gearbox fine thats exactly what i had in mind too

[Kevin Bacon 5]

As mentioned already, Coxylaad and Phat are the people to speak to. The wiring is not plug and play, even all the harnesses and ECU etc.

 

Yeah the Vr6 box will definitely mate up to the R32/4Motion block.

 

Personally speaking, if you're going to the trouble of installing a drive-by-wire pedal etc, I'd go for the R32 engine. It's 40bhp up on the 2.8 and with scope for a lot more.....but a supercharged 2.8 would be a damn quick option too!

[dr_mat 0]

Hardly seems worth all the trouble of installing a new engine with all that wiring and crap if you're just going to do the 2.8 24v. Go the whole way, get an R32.. :)

[CoxyLaad 0]

yeah but I would imagine the extra 2-3 grand on the price of the engine tends to have a marked effect of people purchases......they may be the same design engine, but money wise at the moment they are in a totally different league to the 2.8 motor.

 

I totally disagree about peoples lack of interest in the 2.8 24v - its a much better engine than the 2.9vr and from a slightly smaller capacity. Its very easy to say stuff like 'bah may as well just go for the r32', and thats fine if your names rockafella, but most mortals dont even have the funds for a 2.8 swap let alone the r32 lump.

 

Thats not me being bitter cos I have a 2.8 either, as I will be supercharging my 2.8 in the not too distant future (parts purchased awaiting fitment). But I am well happy to run the car in standard 2.8 24v normally aspirated mode for a long time and prove that its a much more advanced, potent engine than the old vr. (not that I am knocking the vr btw because I think they are great engines)

my 2p, from someone who is actually 'doing it'

[vr6banana 0]

2.8 24v is a better engine than the old 2.9, they breathe better and you can pick up some very low mileage engines unlike the old VR lumps

[PhatVR6 0]

You can pick up a 2.8 for £1000, people are now asking up to £5000 for the R32 lumps, which is just silly.

 

So long as you get the whole wiring harness from the relay plate to the engine, the ECU, clocks and keys it's really not too hard a job.

 

I have the diagrams if anyone needs them.

 

The trick os to use the mk4 relay plate, and just be really neat and methodical in slitting up the power supplies to the different systems, or using the mk4 battery mounted fusebox too (which is ugly)

[Dub Style 0]

PhatVR6, how hard is it to fit the drive by wire pedal setup

[PhatVR6 0]

wiring wise? easy, plugs stright in.

 

I fabricated a bracket and welded it to the pedal box, with an adjustable stop (so I don't go bending the pedal out of calibration)

 

took a few tries before I was happy with it's position, nad it's bloody tight behind the fuseboard (I've had to move it forward 10mm) but it feels fine now.